Hitachi shares rise after report it is considering scrapping Britain nuclear project

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> shares rose as much as 2.9 percent on Monday after Japan's TV Asahi reported the firm is considering scrapping its 3 trillion yen (20.91 billion pounds) nuclear project in Britain due to projections of further increases in construction costs.

Hitachi's Horizon Nuclear Power plans to build over 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity at two sites in Britain – the first at Wylfa Newydd in Wales.

The project will be discussed at Hitachi's board meeting on Tuesday, and a conclusion is likely to be made by the end of the business year through March, TV Asahi reported. Giving up the project would incur Hitachi a 270 billion yen loss, it said.

A Hitachi spokesman declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

Hitachi shares ended up 1 percent at 3,254 yen, compared with a 2.1 percent decline in the Nikkei share average <.N225>.

(Reporting by Hideyuki Sano and Daiki Iga; Editing by Stephen Coates and Christopher Cushing)